Information technology stocks saw traders cut derivatives positions, with Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd. and Coforge Ltd. among the counters showing declines in futures prices and open interest.
TCS September futures slipped 0.11% to Rs 2,466.70 as open interest declined 0.12%. HCLTech September futures fell 0.18% to Rs 1,366.90, accompanied by a 0.18% drop in open interest. Coforge August futures declined 0.89% to Rs 1,756.20, with open interest falling 0.89%, while its September contract dropped 0.79% and open interest declined 1.33%.
The positioning across these contracts points to traders reducing outstanding exposure in parts of the IT pack rather than adding positions as prices fall. Options activity in the two largest IT companies also showed contrasting moves: Infosys saw positions cut across several strikes, while TCS recorded fresh put additions below and around its prevailing futures price.
TCS Futures Slip, Options Action Builds Near Rs 2,500
TCS September futures traded Rs 2.70 lower at Rs 2,466.70, a decline of 0.11%. Open interest fell 0.12%.
While futures positions declined, the TCS options chain showed activity around the Rs 2,400 and Rs 2,500 strikes.
Put open interest increased by more than 70,000 contracts at Rs 2,400, the largest addition among the strikes displayed. Traders added around 43,000 put contracts at Rs 2,300 and more than 40,000 at Rs 2,500.
Call open interest, meanwhile, increased by more than 20,000 contracts at Rs 2,500.
The outstanding positions make Rs 2,500 a key strike in the supplied data. Call open interest there exceeded 18 lakh contracts, the highest among the strikes displayed. The strike sits less than Rs 35 above the September futures price.
Put open interest at Rs 2,400 stood above nine lakh contracts after the fresh additions.
Further away, call open interest at Rs 2,600 exceeded 10 lakh contracts, although traders cut around 30,000 call contracts at the strike.
Infosys Traders Unwind Positions Across Strikes
Infosys options showed traders cutting positions rather than adding them across several of the displayed strikes.
Put open interest at Rs 1,100 fell by roughly 88,000 contracts, the largest reduction shown. Traders also cut close to 49,000 put contracts at Rs 1,200 and around 23,000 at Rs 1,000.
Call open interest declined across several strikes as well.
The reductions came despite large outstanding positions around Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,200.
The Rs 1,100 strike had about 46 lakh put contracts and roughly 45 lakh call contracts. At Rs 1,200, call open interest stood at about 54 lakh contracts, the largest call concentration among the displayed strikes, against roughly 14 lakh put contracts.
The data show traders reducing some of those existing Infosys positions rather than making large additions at the strikes displayed.
HCLTech Positions Decline
HCLTech September futures also showed a reduction in outstanding positions.
The contract fell Rs 2.50 to Rs 1,366.90, or 0.18%. Open interest declined 0.18%.
The move placed HCLTech alongside TCS among the large IT stocks where both futures prices and outstanding positions declined.
Coforge Sees Bigger Reduction In Open Interest
Coforge recorded a larger percentage reduction in futures open interest.
Its August futures fell Rs 15.80, or 0.89%, to Rs 1,756.20 as open interest declined 0.89%.
The September contract traded at Rs 1,755, down Rs 13.90, or 0.79%. Open interest fell 1.33%.
The declines across both expiries show traders reducing outstanding Coforge futures positions alongside the fall in prices.
Across the IT contracts in the supplied data, the common thread was a reduction in positions in TCS, HCLTech and Coforge futures. The options market added another layer to that picture, with Infosys seeing unwinding across key strikes while TCS recorded fresh positioning around Rs 2,400 and Rs 2,500.
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